To risk arrest for protesting about the climate emergency?

[medicellen]

I have recently taken part in climate protests with Extinction Rebellion but have stopped short of activities that would lead to an arrest.

I am a scientist and it has been beyond doubt for some years that the climate emergency is accelerating.

And yet, global carbon emissions continue to increase. Our government is granting new licences for fossil fuels, whilst oil companies rake in massive profits. This is utter madness (aka "collective suicide" according to the lead of the UN).

I have an 8-year old son who says one day he might like to have children. I have avoided saying that this may be either not possible or not desirable due to the state of the climate by then.

Petitions, campaigning, pleas, marches have failed. In my mind, the only option left is civil disobedience. Mass arrests advanced the causes of suffrage and civil rights and I am now contemplating arrest as the only meaningful contribution I have left.

Most people will just think using paper straws is enough and carry on criticising those taking direct action sadly

Protestors are potentially turning people away from the environmental cause due to ridiculous actions such as damaging property and disrupting traffic. I don't think it's useful. Like a pp says, it smacks of extremism and that turns people off, even if they want change. I worried that I wouldn't be able to get my autistic ds to his GCSEs in the summer if protestors blocked a road. Just stop oil had put up a banner on the road that I use to get him to school. People are being stopped from getting to hospital etc. It's not furthering the cause, it's causing mega aggravation and it will lead to violence soon IMO.

100% agree. What I saw just made me think what a bunch of pricks. You stopped a man trying to get to the hospital to see his dying mother. To be honest you’re lucky it happened down south as northerners would have dragged yous all out the way and hoyed you in the Tyne.

Going on like idiots and disrupting peoples day takes away from the actual cause.

Extinction rebellion are like a bunch of over privileged toddlers having a tantrum.
They make it difficult for people trying to get to work and appointments,they waste police time and don't care because they want change and they want it RIGHT NOW!
Extinction rebellion need to fuck off

@Popgoestheweaselagain - civil disobedience does not have to mean blocking roads. Although Rosa Parks act is iconic, civil rights protests involved far more disruptive actions also

Indeed @goldsparklyChocolate ignorance is bliss for many...until it's your home/business that floods/burns down.

I think they have a good message and a good following enough to make a difference but I do disagree with how they go about some of it. They need to change their approach as if they did they could be a lot more powerful and achieve more

@jtaeapa - you have told us what you think isnt helpful. What is your alternative to try and mitigate the worst of what is coming our way?

Why would it not be possible for your 8 year old to have children ? Please, please do not pass on your anxiety to him, there are already unis with climate anxiety courses to help overwhelmed students who are wrapped in anxiety over climate change. We know it is an emergency and something needs to be done, but hysteria will solve nothing.

I love it when people don't like protests and say they're pointless - yet here we are discussing it, because of the protests. They don't have to persuade you, they have to raise the profile of the issue and stop it from being brushed under the carpet.

I also think that people have barely begun to think through the impact of much of the world becoming inhospitable to life will be - up to a billion refugees. They will have to leave their homes, because of actions in developed countries. Climate change will cause mass displacement of people through drought, war, fires etc. It makes a few people disrupting the traffic briefly look like a very mild action.

And sure, ambulances being held up is bad. But how many people died prematurely in that massive heatwave we had a few weeks back? How many people die prematurely from the effects of air pollution?

People in future will be amazed we sat back and just said 'Oh the Chinese/the rich are worse/whatever other excuse not to take action.

@Prinnny - you have told us what you dont think is effective. What is your proposed alternative. PS I am northerner and I can assure you that southern anger is just potent

As a scientist wouldn't it be more useful if you'd come up with some workable solutions rather than sticking yourself to roads or paintings?

I feel it is hopeless. I don't want to feel this way, I agree with your analysis of the importance of the issue.

I have a low impact lifestyle, I stopped flying twenty years ago and have no car, I make lots of choices with climate change in mind. I decided the one thing I could do was not be a hypocritical twat.

I have plenty of friends who talk about the 'environment' then buy a 4x4 or fly off to ski. It is starting to get to me. Plus government policy is enraging.

Join the Green party
Write to your MP and ask for their policies for next year
Decarbonise your own life and make sweeping changes to minimise your own impact
Volunteer for charities that chime with your values
Raise green environmentally aware children
Become an MP yourself and make the changes you wish to see

Super glueing yourself on to a road is pointless and likely to create anger and opposition.

It can also be dangerous - what if someone eventually loses their shit and you happen to be on the receiving end

Criminal records wreck lives. How are you going to explain this to an employer? Who will need to know the detail of conviction(s) and will no doubt ensure they give someone else the job rather than have a disruptive person with dodgy judgement.

I completely agree that governments need to take urgent action on the climate emergency. And if you think you need to get yourself arrested in order to make that point, then that's your choice...we all have to do what we believe is right.

Personally, though, I think that approach is counter productive. Extinction Rebellion type protests just annoy and alienate the majority of people, and it becomes far too easy for people to just dismiss you as extremists instead of actually listening to your arguments... and that includes a whole lot of people who would be fundamentally sympathetic to your cause. It makes people switch off because they don't want to identity with the Extinction Rebellion crowd.

I'm all in favour of peaceful protest, but I think it's much more effective when you actually carry people with you instead of behaving in a way that just enables them to dismiss you as some sort of lunatic fringe.

I can honestly say, nothing any of these protests have been doing has made me try and help climate change

I'm all for helping to slow down climate change and help the environment but I feel like all these protests do is put people off. None of it seems to actually make a change and I'm starting to feel like people only join in because they are able to be disruptive and rebellious without too harsh a repercussion and pretend it's for a good cause.

If people really want to help climate change I think a completely different way of protesting or helping needs to happen. I saw a programme on Netflix about the amount of plastic in the ocean and it actively made me recycle more and use less plastic. Nobody broke the law or made other peoples lives a misery to show me this.

It's a waste of your time and it's a complete joke

@TheGrimSqueakersFlea - it sounds as though you have detailed knowledge about the demographics of protesters - is that actually the case, or is it more convenient to deploy the same old stereotypes?

As another poster suggested, why not go and protest in China? I suspect your passion for and enthusiasm for civil disobedience would wane once it had any actual consequences for you. Of course a low risk minor arrest over here is probably as much of a point as you are willing to make. Just enough action to annoy other people and feel virtuous but not enough to actually risk anything

Exactly this!!

Dangling above the M25 is not gaining support for the cause. Most people are already aware and concerned about climate change, but pissing off the general public and stopping them getting to work, isn't gaining support.

If you're a scientist surely there's a way you can better use your education and knowledge to help inform people of positive things they can do to help environmentally. Run workshops, distribute leaflets, make a YouTube video of positive and actionable advice that people can follow. Something good and worthwhile.

We have workable solutions. We don't need solutions, we need political action.

We just had a PM (Truss) who wanted to ban solar farms and start fracking.

The issue is not with scientists, it is with politicians and voters.

I'd love to know more about how ER and the Stop Oil organisation is radicalising people.

How is it possible that it's managing to recruit people to do crazy things every week - defacing Van Gogh's in the National Gallery, climbing up gantries on the M25, lying in the middle of rush hour London roads, spraying paint at government buildings. Whatever is going on is literally a pathway to radicalisation and none of the media seem interested in talking about how people (probably mentally unstable or depressed and looking for meaning in their lives) are being groomed into doing this. Nor do the police / authorities. Funny that.

Perhaps you can help us OP? You'll have been subject to all the climate change scaremongering on the BBC and in the media. But what else have you been exposed to? And if you decide to join in with ER how will you go about it? Is there a local "cell" to join where you can plan the next insane activist "spectacular" to inconvenience and appal the public?

@goldsparklyChocolate - change to what approach?

The more wealthy educated trustafarians disrupt ordinary people's lives, the more they stop listening to your arguments.

Why do you think this will have any impact? And you might want to google Roger Hallam who is behind ER and about as batshit as David Icke.

And who would fund this for OP??!! Governments aren’t interested so what option would OP have other than to protest etc ?